Reply With Quote
is this how you found out?
Cable Anchors, Guests Use Tea Parties as Platform for Frat House Humor
Cable anchors and guests covered the anti-tax tea party protests by cracking a litany of barely concealed sexual references.
For thousands of Americans, Tax Day was a moment to protest what they see as bloated budgets and a pile of debt being passed on to their children.
For CNN, MSNBC and other media outlets, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to use the word "teabagging" in a sentence.
Teabagging, for those who don't live in a frat house, refers to a sexual act involving part of the male genitalia and a second person's face or mouth.
So when the anti-tax "tea party" protests were held Wednesday across the country, cable anchors and guests -- who for weeks had all but ignored the story -- covered the protests by cracking a litany of barely concealed sexual references.
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper interspersed "teabagging" references with analyst David Gergen's more staid commentary on how Republicans are still "searching for their voice."
"It's hard to talk when you're teabagging," Cooper explained. Gergen laughed, but Cooper kept a straight face.
MSNBC's David Shuster weaved a tapestry of "Animal House" humor Monday as he filled in for Countdown host Keith Olbermann.
The protests, he explained, amount to "Teabagging day for the right wing and they are going nuts for it."
He described the parties as simultaneously "full-throated" and "toothless," and continued: "They want to give President Obama a strong tongue-lashing and lick government spending." Shuster also noted how the protesters "whipped out" the demonstrations this past weekend.
Tea Party participants were not amused. The events were held in dozens of cities across the country, and while some demonstrators were criticized for wielding off-topic and sometimes insensitive protest signs, most took to the streets to speak out against government spending.
Brent Bozell, president of the conservative Media Research Center, said the media coverage was "insulting," reacting specifically to CNN reporter Susan Roesgen's combative interviews with Illinois demonstrators in which she declared that the protests were "anti-CNN" and supported by FOX News. She left the teabagging jokes to her colleagues, though.
"I've never seen anything like it," Bozell said. "The oral sex jokes on (CNN) and particularly MSNBC on teabagging ... they had them by the dozens. That's how insulting they were toward people who believe they're being taxed too highly."
Max Pappas, public policy vice president at FreedomWorks -- a small-government group which promoted the tea parties -- said it's a "shame" media outlets cracked jokes at a genuine "grassroots uprising."
"I think what that reveals is how worried they are that this might actually be something serious. You make fun of things you're afraid of, I'd say," Pappas said.
If anyone thinks the orally charged remarks on mainstream cable were just a coincidence, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow's segments over the past week with guest, Air America's Ana Marie Cox, would dissolve all doubt. Their on-air gymnastics, dancing around the double entendre of the week, looked like live-action Beavis and Butthead.
By one count, the two of them used the word "teabag" more than 50 times on one show. And on Monday, Cox even let the viewers in on their joke -- referencing Urbandictionary.com, a site which offers a number of colorful definitions for the term "teabagging."
"Well, there is a lot of love in teabagging," Cox said. "It is curious, though, as you point out, they do not use the verb 'teabag.' It might be because they're less enthusiastic about teabagging than some of the more corporate conservatives who seem to have taken to it quite easily."
Jenny Beth Martin, a Republican activist who helped organize one protest in Atlanta, said she's not too worried about the protests being dismissed by some media outlets. She estimated 750,000 people attended more than 800 protests in all 50 states, and that at the very least the local media and community newspapers do ented it.
"Our message definitely got out where it needed to get," she said.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009...t-house-humor/
Last edited by GaryJohnston; 04-16-2009 at 12:50 PM.
is this how you found out?
An obscene lack of professionalism from CNN. I expect that lack of professionalism from MSNBC, but was still shocked to see. Olberman even put up a picture of a building that looked like a and balls on his pathetic telecast. All MSNBC is, is papparazi type slander and propaganda. Never any real news or debate. You'll never see anyone with a differing opinion their shows. At least on CNN and Fox you will see actual debate.
I didn't expect what I saw from CNN. Anderson would of never said that on Channel 1, lol, but in all seriousness that was dissappointing.
Its no wonder the most professional of news outlets, FoxNews, kills the other 2 networks in ratings. No wonder at all.
Olbermann had the best one. He was describing the discrepancy between Neil Cavuto's lie and the actual estimate of the crowd at the rally he attended. Instead of saying "vast difference" he said "vas deferens."
Board Republicans are compete pussies now. Thanks for the confirmation.
That damn liberal media!!
Lol
I think its safe to say we can stop calling them media/news/journalist. They have ceased to be objective and want to sleep with Obama. They are more like gossip magazines now.
I thought you didn't like sexual humor.
not cavuto.....he wanted to sleep with 15K imaginary protesters.
No, I like crass humor. Im a pretty crass guy. But professionalism is expected in certain outlets. We didn't get that yesterday. We got comedy central on the supposed "news" networks. But hey, I've come to expect this from liberalisim.......
I would have expected Fox to report and not make the news yesterday. Where is your outrage over that?
It was very unprofessional of the Fox News Channel -- worthy of ridicule.
it doesn't bother you that cavuto would lie to you about something so trivial?
This is important.
Gasp!
He was estimating of the top of his head. Big ing deal. That is supposed to be "news"...And as far as outright lying goe, HA MSNBC does it all the time. That dosn't piss you off?
Ok, now you are lying.
I can't say this was unexpected.
I don't disagree about how liberal MSNBC can get but as much as they slant to the left, Fox News slants to the right just as much.
this thread turned on you........fast.
And that is one massive head. Okay, perhaps it was unprofessional of them but it was funny. Anderson Cooper cracked me up.He was estimating of the top of his head. Big ing deal. That is supposed to be "news"
How can this be? Clearly the channel who gives me the news the way I like to hear it is less slanted than the others.
I just noticed you actually added a link to the story.
Where's the byline? One would think the writer would want to take credit for this pulitzer-worthy effort.
At least O'Reilley does give the progressive view a pretty much equal shot at proving their point. Yeah he is a conservative but he's not nearly as bad as Rush Limpballs or Sean insHannity when it comes to showing both sides. I do like Bill.
Obviously FoxNews is slanted towards the right, but they constantly have on their programming opposing viewpoints. Every single night you will see Hannity interview 1 or 2 people with opposing viewpoints. And O'Reilly(who's main viewpoint is traditionalism) has liberals and democrats on his program all the time, every day. And Greta loves Hillary. Which is why I think they kill in the ratings department. They offer true debate which is what I think most Americans like to see.
On MSNBC you'll never see debate. Just right wing bashing that is really childish and unprofessional.
But to most of you liberals, thats just fine. However I don't think you'd like it if I call you a ball licker and a sucker of s now would you?
You watch MSNBC all the time?
If I brought it on myself by using teabags as props nonstop and actually using "teabag" and "teabagging" as a verb, I wouldn't have much room to complain.But to most of you liberals, thats just fine. However I don't think you'd like it if I call you a ball licker and a sucker of s now would you?
Sorry man, Fox teabagged themselves by eagerly becoming the story.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
